


The Man Hunter

by Steve4Eva



Category: The Streets of San Francisco
Genre: Angst, Crime, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2018-11-02 11:10:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10943283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steve4Eva/pseuds/Steve4Eva
Summary: Until you've hunted man, you haven't hunted yet.





	1. Chapter 1

"And I'll just tell you this: Until you've hunted man, you haven't hunted yet," Gov. Jesse Ventura

XXXXX

Slipping and sliding on the muddy trail, he desperately grabbed the tree root that was poking out of the ground just above him to help pull himself up the slippery, unstable hill. He felt the hot wind caused by another bullet as it flew by his head and embedded itself into the wet, muddy ground next to his hand. He glanced, breathlessly, back over his shoulder, swallowing hard as he saw him lift the rifle up to his eye and aim again. He quickly scrambled towards the thick underbrush, ignoring the branches that seemed to reach out like fingers trying to clutch at his clothes, scratching his face and arms and tearing the tender skin beneath the material.

He heard another crack from the rifle a second before he felt an agonizing, deep burn in the back of his leg. He cried out in pain as his leg gave out beneath him and he tumbled hard to the ground. Blinking back the tears of pain, he cast a quick furtive glance behind him, and saw his tormentor moving closer, getting into position for the kill.

Swallowing hard, he scrambled back up to his feet, gritting his teeth hard in an attempt to ignore the agonizing pain in his leg as he forced himself to run as fast as he could manage towards the safety of the thicker underbrush just a few yards away. He knew the only way this game was going to end was when he was dead, and he wasn't ready to die just yet.

Reaching the thick undergrowth, he threw himself down and rolled beneath the thick ferns and low hanging branches, crawling a little further into the twilight darkness of the plants until he was certain he was far enough away from the trail not to be seen. Laying as still as he could, he held his breath, not game enough to even breathe as he saw the hunter's boots come into view. He prayed that the man could not hear his thumping heart and that the dying light from the setting sun hid any blood drops that had fallen as he watched the muddy pair of boots stop just yards from where he was hiding. Time seemed to stand still until the boots slowly moved away. Dropping his head onto his arms, he swallowed the nervous laugh that threatened to escape before he rolled over onto his back and looked up through the branches towards the darkening sky, unsure how he was going to get away or even just how he was going to survive the night.

XXXXXX

Lee Lessing looked up from the notes he was trying to copy from Norm Haseejien's notepad as the door to the OR waiting room opened and Roy Devitt hurried in. The Homicide captain hurried across to where they were standing.

"How is he?"

"Bad, real bad, he took a round in the leg and another in the back. He's lost a lot of blood," Lee answered quietly, the young inspector looked pale, "They didn't even take him into the ER, they took him straight into surgery. The doctor said he's critical."

"Any sign of Keller?"

Norm Haseejien's shook his head, "Not yet. We found Mike dumped on the side of Bunker Road just near the Miwok Trail. Looked like he had been running through the underbrush, his clothes were ripped and muddy, and there were twigs and leaves sticking to his clothes. I have some of the guys searching the area now for any sign of Keller but so far nothing."

"Looks like Mike and Steve ran into the guy they have been chasing for the four murders in the National Park murders. We found his calling card in Mike's pocket, just like the other four victims. I sent the bullet and his clothes across to the lab but I'm not sure we are going to get anything useful from them. He's wiped the bullet clean each time." Lee swallowed hard, trying to keep his emotions in check as he looked at his captain and murmured, "I guess I better let Jeannie know. She didn't get much sleep last night worrying about Mike and Steve, and this morning the baby was being fussy. He's teething. I … I promised I would let her know as soon as there was any news about Mike and Steve." He swallowed hard, "I…I don't know how to tell her…"

"I can give her a call." Norm volunteered quietly as he placed his hand on Lee's shoulder.

"No, it will be easier for Jeannie if I am the one who tells her." Lee answered, "But thanks, Norm." Turning to his captain, he added, "I'll be right back."

Devitt nodded silently as Lee hurried out of the room in search of a telephone before he turned back to Norm, he asked, "So how did Mike manage to get away alive?"

"Maybe the guy thought he was dead and decided to dump the body. Hell, I thought Mike was gone when we got there. It was only Lee managed to find a weak pulse…" Norm paused as he ran a hand over his face and drew in a deep breath as he blinked hard, "I … I really thought that we had lost him, Roy, I really thought Mike had become this bastard's five victim."

"Keller still might if Mike can't tell us where he is." Roy sighed, "This bastard seems to be using his victims as prey in some sort of sick hunting game, if Keller is not already dead, he's going to be soon if we can't find him before this bastard hunts him down like an animal."

Both men looked at the door as it opened and the surgeon stepped inside. Pulling the blue surgical cap from his head as he crossed the room to where the two anxious men waited. "Inspector Lessing?"

"Inspector Lessing has gone to call his wife, Lieutenant Stone's daughter, but I am Mike's captain, Captain Devitt. How is he, Doc?" Roy asked as the surgeon reached them.

"Extremely critical and unstable, I'm afraid, if he can make it through the next twenty-four hours he has a chance." The surgeon answered as he tugged the paper mask that hung around his neck free, "One of the bullets went through his leg and thigh, but he managed to slow the bleeding with a tourniquet, but the second bullet though did the most damage, it struck him in the back and nicked his liver before lodging in his intestines. We managed to control the bleeding by temporally packing the liver and repaired his intestines but he was too weak for us to do much more. We are going to wait until he is a little stronger and able to tolerate more surgery before we will take him back to the O.R. "

"Can we see him?" Roy asked.

"I'm sorry, but Lieutenant Stone is in no condition to have any visitors, except for his family." The doctor said firmly before he repeated, "As I told you his condition is extremely critical, there is a very real possibility that Lieutenant Stone will not survive the day. Now if you will excuse me, I really need to get back to my patient."

Swallowing hard, Roy nodded as he watched the surgeon turn and hurry out of the room.

XXXX

Not once did Steve ever care to experience what it was like to be a dog locked up in a cage, yet here he was, somewhere, locked in a cage. He had no idea if he was still in San Francisco or somewhere else, nor did he know what type of building he was in. It had been too dark to see anything since he woke up and realized he was locked in a cage like an animal.

The one thing he did know was that at some point, Mike was there with him. The last thing that he remembered clearly was getting out of the car to check out an abandoned car pulled over on the side of the road, the door wide open and a woman's shoe lying on the ground next to it. They were together then, and he was certain that Mike had been in a cage next to his, but he was slow to come around and couldn't be sure what he remembered was actually fact or not.

Mike wasn't there now, and even though he could see very little, he could tell there was an empty cage just like his next to him. So where was Mike? Why wasn't he with him? A pain started to develop in the pit of his stomach and worry took over his thoughts.

Steve started banging on the cage and shaking it, hoping to make as much noise as necessary to grab someone's attention. If Mike was somewhere else in the dark room, he wanted to know. His banging and shouting went on for several minutes, but it was always met with silence. If anyone else was there, they were either unconscious or worse. The last thought caused quite a bit of bile to rise up in his throat, forcing him to swallow it back down hard. Just the thought that he had seen the last of Mike made him violently nauseous.

Sometime later, though Steve couldn't be sure how much time had passed in the dark, a door off in the distance creaked open and slammed shut, followed by heavy footsteps on the cement floor. There was also the distinct sound of someone taking apart a gun.

"Wonderful hunt today, gentlemen!" a deep, masculine voice said. "Possibly the best one yet. Today's prey sure did give is a run. Perhaps we should have been hunting law enforcement all along. They make fine prey."

Though the words indicated that there was more than one person involved in the conversation, Steve only heard one set of feet and no other voices. Was this man talking to himself, or were there more people involved? Then, an overhead light flicked on, illuminating the room in a harsh yellow glow. The sudden change in brightness blinded Steve temporarily, causing him to shield his eyes with his hand.

"Well, well, my next prey is awake. Excellent. No fun hunting something dead," the voice said, much closer this time.

Once Steve's eyes got used to the light, he lowered his hand and looked up in the direction of the voice. There stood a large man in a hunting outfit worn to help him blend into the woods. He was holding a hunting rife that was fortunately aimed at the ceiling.

"Who are you?" Steve asked.

"That is none of your concern. Fish don't ask a fisherman for his background before they're yanked out of the water."

"Where's Mike?" Steve asked a little more persistently this time.

"Who?"

"Mike! My partner!" Steve shouted. "Where is he?"

"Ohh. Him. Didn't know his name. The fisherman doesn't ask the trout for its life story either."

Steve banged on the cage as hard as he could.

"Don't worry. You two will be reunited soon enough. In that great big hunting ground in the sky." The man laughed maniacally before turning around and walking back in the direction he came from.

Now Steve was beyond scared and beyond angry. He hit the cage with his fists and feet, shouting, "Let me out of here!" repeatedly.


	2. Chapter 2

Unable to hold back the tears as the elevator door opened, Jeannie stepped out of the elevator and into her husband's strong arms as Lee's arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer as he lightly kissed her hair.

"Ohh, Lee." she sobbed into his chest. "How is he?"

"He was shot in the leg and the back. He's…he's critical, Sweetheart." Lee told her softly pulling away a little so he could look into her face as he kept his hands wrapped protectively around her, "The doctors said if he can survive the next twenty -four hours, he has a chance…"

"Oh God, Lee, please, please, I don't want to lose him." Jeannie sobbed harder as Lee embraced her again.

"Shhh Honey, shhh," Lee murmured into her hair as he placed his lips against the top of her head, blinking back his own tears that threatened to fall. "Mike's a fighter, we both know there is no way he's going to give up without a fight."

"Where's Steve?" Jeannie gasped as she lifted her head and desperately began to look around for her father's partner before she looked up questioningly into her husband's face, searching for an answer.

"Steve's still missing." Lee swallowed hard, unable to look Jeannie in the eyes and see the added pain he knew he would see in them as he tried to reassure her, "We're going to find him, Jeanie, I promise. Everyone on duty and lots of guys who are off duty are out there, right now, searching for him. And no one is going to stop searching until we find him, and we will find him, I promise."

Biting her bottom lip, Jeannie nodded before she forced herself to act stronger and more confident than she felt as she forced a small weak smile, despite the tears that trickled freely down her face, "I know you will. Can…can I see Mike?"

Lee nodded slowly as he released Jeannie from his hug and wrapped his arm around her waist, "I'll take you to his room. The doctor said we can stay with him for as long as we want." he told her gently as he led her past Bill and Roy who were silently watching them, and into Mike's ICU room.

Jeannie hesitated as she entered the room and her face paled with shock as she fumbled desperately for Lee's hand and squeezed it tightly as she stared at her father. Even from the doorway, she could see Mike's complexion looked a sickly gray against the pristine white sheets that covered the lower half of his body, thick white bandages encircled his waist and what looked like some type of metal cradle had been placed over his legs, keeping the weight of the sheets off of them. She was unable to stop herself from shaking with fear as she stared at the bags of solutions that hung above the bed, the IV lines snaking down to disappear into dressings that covered the back of both of Mike's hands. Slowing looking back at her father in the bed, she felt faint as she noticed the myriad of wires and tubes that were connected to him, an oxygen mask covered the lower half of his face, a tube emerging from under the sheets and disappeared down the other side of the bed and other wires were connected to the heart monitor that softly beeped beside the bed. "Ohh Lee." She whimpered brokenheartedly as she squeezed his hand hard.

"I know, Sweetheart," Lee admitted his own fears softly, as he found himself staring at his critically ill father-in-law. Forcing himself to guide Jeannie towards the chair next to the bed, he softly reminded her, "but remember Mike's a fighter, Jeannie, he's not going to give up and neither should we."

Swallowing down the sob that threatened to escape, Jeannie could only nod as she stepped next to the side of the bed and carefully leaned over and gently kissed her father's cheek, her tears dropping lightly onto Mike's lax face. "I'm here, Mike, I'm not going to leave you." she whispered as she carefully grabbed his hand before she sat down in the chair that Lee placed behind her. "I love you, Dad, I love you so much. Please don't die."

Lee turned around as Norm appeared in the doorway, the expression on Norm's face instantly told Lee something had happened. Glancing down at his wife, Lee squeezed her shoulder and whispered, "I'll be back in a minute."

Jeannie nodded, her eyes never leaving her father as Lee turned and hurried across to where Norm was waiting. "What's happened?" he asked softly.

"Headquarters just got a call from a concerned citizen complaining about two abandoned cars in a parking lot off Muir Beach Overlook, both cars have their doors open. A couple of the uniformed guys responded and discovered that one of the cars is an unmarked squad car, so they radioed back to Headquarters. One of the cars is Mike's and Steve's. I thought I would see if you wanted to come," Glancing across at Jeannie, Norm added quietly, "or if you wanted to stay here with Jeannie and Mike."

"I'm coming." Lee answered instantly.

"What about Jeannie?"

"She will understand." Lee answered confidently as he turned and hurried across to where Jeannie was sitting before whispering to her that there had been a break in the case and he would be back as soon as he could.

Norm watched as Jeannie nodded and Lee lightly kissed her cheek before he turned and hurried out of the room as Norm turned and followed him.

xxxxxx

Norm and Lee raced to the scene and they realized that the location of the car was not on the section of Point Lobos Avenue that was in the populated part of the city but instead inside the densely-wooded area near the coast, they both fought off worry. Arriving at the two cars, the two inspectors jumped out of their car and headed first to Mike and Steve's car. Just as they had heard, it appeared as if the two men had jumped out and run away.

"You think maybe they were ambushed?" Lee asked the sergeant.

"Something had to have pulled them away from here. I doubt they both decided to abandon their jobs at the same time." Norm turned around and looked at the other abandoned car behind him. "I'd bet my pension that it has something to do with this car. Did you ever find out what their last call was?"

Lee shook his head. "I'll go give them a call, remind them of what's at stake here." He turned and headed to the car to call Headquarters.

Norm walked all around the other car, seeing if there was any obvious evidence to be seen. Other than the woman's shoe that was still lying by the car, there was nothing. He then instructed the lab guys on what kinds of things he wanted them to pull from the car, such as any papers in the glove box, fingerprints, shoe impressions, clothes...anything that could identify the supposed kidnapper and murderer or where Steve might be now. He also wanted the woods of Point Lobos and Sutro Heights Park combed for anything. He was hoping that someone else besides a woman who may or may not exist to have lost a shoe.

After relaying his instructions, Norm looked off into the woods, wondering how Mike ended up in Marin County if he was taken from San Francisco. They were going to have to find a car or some other transportation that got him from point A to point B without being conspicuous. After he finished pondering the question that didn't seem to have an answer, he turned his attention back to the other car, seeing if it looked like Mike and Steve went willingly or if they put up a fight.

A few minutes later, Lee came back. "Hey Norm, found out what their last call was."

Norm, who had been assisting a lab tech with looking through the squad car, stood up and turned to Lee.

"A call went out to check that car," he explained as he pointed at the other car. "Mike and Steve must have been closest because they took the call."

Furrowing his brow in confusion, he looked at Lee and said, "It was just an open call to anyone in the area? Not specifically to them?"

Lee nodded.

"So, were they the targets or just in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

 


	3. Chapter 3

Steve had somehow managed to doze, leaning against the side of his cage, but his short rest was suddenly shattered as one of his captors kick the cage and shouted, "Wake up, Sunshine! Time's a wastin'."

Startled, he sat up quickly as much as he was able to and rubbed his eyes before he looked around in confusion. "What? Time for what?" he asked as he looked back at the man standing next to the cage, grinning down at him.

"The hunt, my good man. It's a glorious day for one, don't you think?" the man laughed as he turned and crossed the small room to where another man stood waiting, watching him closely.

Steve's confusion grew as the two men turned their backs to him and began to change into what appeared to be hunting outfits before meticulously attaching all their gear, including binoculars around their necks and a rather large knifes into sheaves on their belts.

Turning back around, the first man cast a quick glance at their newest captive and smiled with anticipation before he turned back and made several comments to the other man, which Steve was unable to hear, as he made his final checks to ensure he had plenty of ammunition and that his gun was in tip top shape before he turned back to the trapped man in the cage.

Steve watched warily as the man grabbed what appeared to be a short scarf before walking across to the cage and leaning down to unlock it with a key which he had pulled out of his pocket. Pressing himself against side of the cage, ignoring the thin steel mesh that cut into his back, Steve desperately tried to push the man's hand away as the man reached in to grab him. But his efforts to push the hand away were in vain as the man grabbed his arm and yanked him out of the cage, causing him to painfully slide out on his side onto the rough cement floor.

"Stand up!" the man barked, violently yanking Steve by his arm before spinning him around to face the other man who was still standing near the door and who had his hunting rifle trained on Steve's chest. Roughly grabbing Steve's arms, the man quickly handcuffed them behind Steve's back, growling as he heard the young cop hiss in pain as the too tight metal bracelet's cut painfully into his wrists. "You know, if you're acting like this now, this hunt won't last very long, which will make me very angry," he hissed in Steve's ear as he took the scarf in both his hands and placed it over Steve's eyes, tying it tightly around Steve's head before he roughly grabbed Steve by the arm and steered him towards the door.

xxxxx

Frustration! It was an emotion that sadly Lee was only too familiar with when it came to the job. He had learned to push it to the background but this time he just couldn't ignore it. Drawing in a deep breath, he thanked the man on the other end of the phone before he slammed it down and threw the pen, he had been using to jot down the information he was being given, across the bullpen, narrowly missing Norm as the older man walked towards his desk, carrying two mugs of coffee.

"By your reaction, I'm guessing the car was stolen." Norm frowned as he handed Lee one of the mugs before taking a sip from his own mug as he sat down on the corner of Lee's desk.

"Yeah." Lee sighed as he tried to push away the frustration he was feeling. Nodding his thanks for the coffee, he took a small token sip before he looked up at Norm and sighed again, "The owner doesn't even know is stolen yet. He's currently backpacking it around Europe. His sister believes he is probably in France now or maybe even Germany, but he's not due to return for another three months. He left his car in the long-term parking lot at airport. I just rang the airport and they confirmed that the car had been left there but when they checked if it was still there, they discovered it was missing. They have no idea how long it has been missing and they claim no way of knowing who even took the car."

"So, the car's a dead end lead all around." Norm breathed quietly as he lowered his mug of coffee.

"What do you mean?"

"I just spoke to Charlie, the car had been wiped clean, there were no fingerprints, no shoe prints, nothing at all to give us a lead on who took it. The paperwork in the glove-box all belonged to the owner. Charlie managed to pull several prints off the registration and insurance papers he found in there, but I'm sure they're going to belong to the owner." It was Norm's turn to sigh as he continued with the preliminary oral forensic report he had just been given, "The shoe we found is size five, never worn. Charlie says it's able to be bought at any shoe shop in the city in any color that a woman could or would want. No prints on the shoe either…"

"So, the car and the shoe were a trap."

"Looks that way. Whoever set it up must have been waiting for any potential victims who pulled over to investigate it."

Shifting in his chair to be able to look up at Norm more easily, Lee ran a hand over his hand as he mused, "So it's probable that Steve and Mike weren't the targets."

"Wrong place, wrong time." Norm answered quietly, "Steve and Mike must have spotted the car on their way back from checking out the scene where the body of the last national park homicide victim was dumped and decided to investigate."

"And they were grabbed." Lee muttered before he slammed the coffee mug a little harder down on his desk than he meant to as he cursed. "Damn it." Norm nodded silently, understanding Lee's frustration and worry as the younger man rose from his chair and began to pace around to the front of his desk, "What about the bullets?"

Charlie confirmed the bullets the doctors dug out of Mike matches the bullets that killed the other four victims. Same two guns were used in each shooting."

"So we know there has to be at least two shooters involved. There would have had to be at least two people to ambush and grab both Steve and Mike yesterday." Lee murmured as he glanced down at his watch. "We know the last radio contact with Steve and Mike was about nine-thirty yesterday morning when they radioed they were on their way back and their car was found in the parking lot off of Point Lobos Avenue, about half an hour away the last location they gave us, so that means they had to have been grabbed about ten."

"Yeah…" Norm frowned uncertain where the young inspector was going.

"We also know with the first four victims that they were typically killed in the first twenty-four hours after being grabbed." Lee looked back up at Norm, fear in his eyes as he swallowed hard and continued. "Mike was found, barely alive within that twenty-four-hour time period. And this is the first time that we are aware of that they have grabbed two victims at the same time." Norm nodded silently as Lee continued. "If they continue with their pattern and they used Mike as the first prey to be hunted, then if our timeline and suspicions are correct, Steve is getting hunted now and countdown has begun to find him and if we don't in the next twelve to twenty-four-hours, Steve is going to be the next trophy notch on their guns."


	4. Chapter 4

Stumbling over another tree root, Steve bit his bottom lip to stop himself from crying out as he was brutally yanked back up to his feet and forced to continue walking. He stumbled again and the hand encircling his arm tightened with bruising intensity as it stopped him from falling. He wasn't sure just how long they had been walking and he had lost all sense of direction as he was silently steered in one direction before being pushed in another.

"What about here?" the hunter asked, looking around the small clearing of which the were now standing on the edge of.

Looking around, his friend nodded and smiled. "Looks perfect," he agreed, grabbing his captive's arm even tighter as led him into the middle of the clearing before forcing him to stop. Grabbing the small key out of his hunting jacket, he turned Steve around before quickly unlocking and removing the handcuffs.

"Aren't you afraid I'm going to run?" Steve asked as he slowly reached up with a numb arm to remove his blindfold.

"Not at all, in fact, I encourage it," the hunter grinned as he reached up and ripped the blindfold off before Steve could, throwing it on the ground before aiming his hunting rifle at Steve as Steve slowly turned around to face him. "That is, if you want to live," he added softly as the other hunter snickered.

Steve stared in horror and disbelief at the two men as he slowly realized why he had been brought out into the middle of a forest.

"We're going to give you a two-minute head start. After that, all bets are off," the second hunter continued as he loaded his gun while he began to explain the rules of the hunt. "You see the rules to the hunt are really quite simple, so simple that even a cop, like you, should understand. You run, and we hunt you down. And I suppose if you manage to get away somehow, you win, but that's never happened yet."

"Never happened yet." Steve asked, swallowing hard as he stared at the hunter, before glancing at the other man, who stood grinning at him, before he looked back at the hunter, "How many others have there been?"

The man laughed, "Nice try, cop, not that it's going to matter to you in the end anyway but if you want to count your partner, not that I would call that a fair hunt, especially considering how old and slow he was trying to get away, you're number ten."

"But to make the hunt a little fairer, there is one reward...if you can find it," the first hunter announced as Steve turned his head to look back at him.

"A reward?" Steve cautiously asked.

"An escape. That is, if you can find it. Again, it's never happened," the hunter laughed as he raised his gun and aimed it at Steve's head before he coldly suggested, "I'd start runnin' if I were you."

Steve stared in disbelief at the two men as the hunter began to slowly count, "One… two… three…"

Realizing that the two men were serious, Steve turned and ran towards the safety of the forest.

xxxxxx

Jeannie sat up higher on the chair, uncertain if she had imagined Mike's soft, breathy moan of his partner's name.

"S…steve…"

Mike's weak, desperate call for Steve told her that it had not been her imagination at all, Mike was calling for his partner. Rising quickly from her chair, Jeannie leaned over her father, one hand lightly squeezing the hand she held as her other hand gently brushed the side of his face, alarmed at how hot it felt as she whispered, "Mike … Mike, can you hear me?" She waited a moment, hoping for some sort of indication that he had heard her, before she squeezed his hand again as she begged a little louder, "Please, Mike, try and open your eyes or squeeze my hand for me."

Her heart began to beat faster as she felt Mike's fingers twitch slightly before they slowly curled around her hand. She swallowed down a sob and blinked away the tears that blurred her father's face as she watched Mike's eyelashes flutter before she saw a small slit of blue peek out from between them as her father turned his head and tried to focus on her face. "Mike?"

"J…j…jeanie?"

"Yeah Mike, it's me." Jeannie weakly smiled through the tears, squeezing his hand a little tighter. "I'm here. You're safe now, you're going to be fine."

"Steve?... Where's Steve…" Mike's soft terrified whisper was barely audible above the beeps of the heart monitor as the small green blip raced across its screen as Mike's eyes panned the room, growing more agitated and restless as he couldn't see the man he was desperately looking for.

"We're looking for him, Mike." Jeannie tried to reassure her upset father as her tears began to fall freely as she gently caressed her father's hot, damp face as the heart monitor alarm suddenly went off and echoed throughout the room.

"S...steve...Steve!" Mike continued to call desperately as the nurse hurried into the room and crossed to the side of the bed, glancing at her agitated patient before she looked up at the heart monitor and hit the button, silencing the alarm.

"Easy, Lieutenant, easy. You need to relax." The nurse tried to sooth him as she gently bumped Jeannie out of the way with her hip and reached for the nurse call button, pressing it. Reaching for the thermometer, she slipped it under Mike's arm before she reached for the blood pressure cuff and wrapped it around his arm as she asked Jeannie over her shoulder, "What happened?"

Jeannie shook her head, her clutching her hands tightly together in front of her chest as she stared at her father who now seemed to be struggling to breathe." I…I don't know… he was asleep and then…"

The nurse nodded silently as she put the stethoscope into her ears and quickly began to bump up the blood pressure cuff, frowning and she released the air and listened. Her frowned deepened as she re-inflated the cuff and took the reading again before she straightened up, and removed the stethoscope from her ears.

"Meryl, what's happening?" another nurse asked from the doorway.

"I'm not sure." Meryl answered as she adjusted the flow of oxygen and removed the thermometer from beneath Mike's arm, glancing at the mercury before she looked across at her colleague, "He's agitated, BP's …" She paused a moment as her eyes traveled to the anxious young woman standing next to her still holding the patient's hand, before she continued, "BP's low, and he's running a high fever."

"Peritonitis?" the nurse asked softly.

Meryl nodded, "Or sepsis. But whatever it is, you better page Dr Miller, stat."

The nurse nodded and hurried out of the room as Meryl turned back to her patient who continued to call for his partner, gently pushing him back down against the pillows as he tried to sit up. "Just try and relax, Lieutenant, I'm sure the other officers are out there right now searching for him. But I need you to try and settle down and concentrate on your breathing. Do you think you can do that for me?"

"Steve…" Mike called out again as he struggled against the nurse's gentle restraint.

"Mike, Lee and Norm will find him." Jeannie whispered as she stepped closer to the bed and grabbed his hand again, squeezing it tightly, "They won't stop searching for Steve until they do. But you need to rest and get better. Please, Mike! Not only for Jonathon, Lee and me but for Steve as well."

"I'm sorry but we need you to leave now."

Jeannie jumped as she felt two soft hands grab her shoulders as a nurse gently guided her from the room as it filled with medical staff. Standing at the door as she watched the frantic activity of the medical staff who now surrounded her father. She was unable to stop the sob that escaped as she wrapped her arms around herself as she felt her world start to crumble around her. She desperately needed Lee by her side, she wasn't sure she was strong enough to deal with this alone as she stared into Mike's ICU room.


	5. Chapter 5

Silently counting to one hundred and twenty in his head, Steve ran as fast as he could into the forest, jumping over fallen logs and darting around trees in a desperate attempt to place as much distance as he could between himself and the two hunters. Reaching one hundred and twenty, he cast a quick frantic glance over his shoulder as he was running, searching for any sign that he was being followed before he turned and scrambled up a steep, muddy embankment. Reaching the top, he hesitated for a brief moment as he quickly searched the trees in front of him for the best direction to run. But everything looked the same to him, just tree after tree in an unfamiliar area, the two hunters clearly had the advantage.

He jumped in surprise as a whizzing sound went by his right ear, followed by the sound of a thunk and wood shavings flying in many directions near his head. Instinctively he ducked, covering his head with his hands as he dove into the underbrush and hunkered down. Turning back to look through the ferns behind him, he couldn’t see any sign of the two hunters or anything else, which scared him. If these guys could shoot that close and not be seen, his chances of getting out of the mess just plunged.

He reminded himself that he could start thinking that way. This was a crazy game he had found himself being forced to play was a game of the survival of the fittest, and he wasn't going down without a fight. First of all, he needed to put some distance between himself and the two insane hunters who were tracking his every move, and then he need to come up with some sort of a plan. The two insane hunters had already boosted how they had already hunted and murdered nine men, including Mike, and he was their intended trophy.

A sob caught in his throat and he dropped his head onto his arms as the realization that Mike was dead threatened to overwhelm him.  Mike was dead... and there was nothing that he could have done to save him.

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, he forced himself to mentally push away all thoughts of Mike and what had happened to his partner, and the man whom he come to think consider family, during the last few hours of Mike’s life at the hands of these two mad men. As deep as Mike’s death was hurting, he knew that Mike would not want him to allow his pain and grief over his death to overtake him, there would be time to grief for Mike later, but first he needed to make sure that he made it out alive. His hunter had mentioned that there was a way to escape and he was determined that he was going to find it.

 Wiping away the tears that he only just realized were running freely down his cheeks, he turned and crawled through the underbrush until he thought he was far enough away to be out of the sights of the two rifles. Rising back to his feet, he began to run again.

Xxxxxxx

Walking across to stand behind the younger man, Norm frowned as he studied the area of the map where Mike had been found close to death earlier this morning and where Lee now rested his finger. “Perfect place to do some hunting.”

Lee nodded silently as he continued to stare at the map.

“So, what do you think? Maybe, we should get some choppers in the air to have a look, or maybe send in an armed search party to look for Steve?”

Lee shook his head as he continued to worry his lip, deep in thought, staring at the map as he mused softly, “Whoever these guys are, Norm, we know one thing about them, and that’s they are hunters.  And that their favorite prey are humans.”

The SFPD sergeant nodded his agreement as Lee turned around to face him.

“These guys are smart. Smart enough to trap their potential prey and leave no evidence behind and smart enough to make the kill and all they leave behind is a body, the bullets they used that we have not been able to trace and little else.” Lee sighed before he glanced across at Steve’s empty desk, “But they are getting cocky, they are escalating, and they are starting to mess up. They thought they had killed Mike and didn’t check if he was really dead after the hunt. No, Norm, they would spot a helicopter or an armed search party probably before anyone sees them and if they do, Steve’s dead. But I do have an idea…”

Norm frowned as Lee pushed past him and headed towards the bullpen door, leaving him trailing behind the young inspector as he demanded, “What’s the idea?”

“We know that there’s two of them and we know their hunting grounds.” Lee told Norm over his shoulder as he headed down the corridor towards the Captain’s office.

“Yeah…” Norm frowned, uncertain of where Lee’s idea was going, “So?”

“What if the hunters become the hunted?”

“I don’t understand…” Norm’s frown deepened as he grabbed Lee’s arm and stopped him.

Turning back to face the older man, Lee began to explain, “Look Norm, we know these guys are out there, right now, hunting Steve. And we know the general area where.’

Norm nodded slowly.

“Now we both know that they would know if we sent in a great big group of armed searchers and they would spot a helicopter flying above, searching for them or Steve. That’s even if a helicopter crew could even see through the tree canopy.” Norm nodded again in agreement as Lee smiled, “But they wouldn’t expect to have two cops, alone, hunting them. We would have not only the ability to search without alerting them we are there but also the element of surprise on our side.”

“But that’s a lot of area for us to cover, just on our own, Lee, it will be like looking for a needle in a haystack.” Norm warned the younger man.

“Yeah, it will, but we know where Mike was found. We know Mike was on foot when he was shot, and if Steve was with him, the chances are Steve and our hunters are going to be in the same area.”

“I still say it’s a long shot…” Norm warned Lee.

“It is, but it could be the only chance Steve has, Norm, we both know time is running out and we are spinning our wheels here.” Lee sighed as he turned and continued down the corridor towards the Captain’s office as he asked over his shoulder, “So are you coming or not?’

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

“BP’s 80/60… pulse 120 and thready…” the nurse murmured as she released the patient’s wrist and grabbed the thermometer and placed it under Mike’s armpit, acutely aware that the patient’s daughter was standing anxiously at the door, probably listening to every word they said.

“Stomach’s distended and hard,” the surgeon frowned as Mike moaned in pain and tried to push his hands away as he gently palpated his swollen stomach, “and he’s showing signs of tenderness around the liver.”

“Temp is 103.5,” the nurse added quietly after removing the thermometer and reading the thin silver line in the light before she turned and watched the surgeon reach up and adjusted the flow of the drip. “So, what do you think, peritonitis?” she asked softly.

“Either that or he has started bleeding again internally,” the surgeon nodded grimly as he looked down at his extremely ill patient who softly called his partner’s name as he tossed restlessly in the bed. Looking back up at the nurse, he sighed, “Either way, he’s in trouble, I think we better get him straight up to the OR and find out what the Hell is going on.”

“I’ll contact the OR and tell them we are on our way up.”

The surgeon nodded as he turned and watched the nurse hurry towards the door before he found himself looking at the terrified young woman standing, with her arms wrapped around herself in fear, in the doorway anxiously watching his every move. Taking a deep breath, he walked across to where she was waiting and gently took her arm before softly suggesting that they go somewhere more private to talk.

Xxxxxxxx

Jeannie could feel her heart beating painfully in her chest as the surgeon led her a short distance down the corridor to an area where they would not be disturbed before he stopped and turned towards her.

“What’s happening?” Jeannie asked, as she stared wide-eyed towards her father’s ICU room as she swallowed hard and forced herself to whisper, “Mike’s not …” She stopped herself, unable to utter her worse fears as she looked over the surgeon’s shoulder watching the nurses as they rushed in and out of Mike’s room.

“I’m afraid that your father has developed some complications,” the surgeon began softly

“Complications? What kind of complications?” Jeannie asked as she looked back fearfully at the surgeon, her fear readable on her face.

“We believe that he is may be bleeding internally or he may have developed peritonitis.” Seeing the confused look on Jeannie’s face, the surgeon rushed on to explain, “It’s an infection in his belly caused by contamination from his intestines leaking after he was shot. But to find out just what is happening, I’m afraid we are going to have to take him back to the operating room and have a look, so we can either stop the bleeding or wash out any contamination that we might find.”

Jeannie nodded wooden as her eyes drifted back to her father’s ICU room before she looked back at the surgeon and swallowed again as she tried to stop the tears falling and her voice from trembling as she asked, “But he is going to be okay, isn’t he?”

 Lightly squeezing her arm, the surgeon promised her, “I promise you, we’re going to do everything we can.” Jeannie nodded as a tear ran down her face and he lightly squeezed her arm again before he looked turned and looked back at his patient’s room as his patient was rolled out on a stretcher. “Now if you will excuse me, I really have to go.”

 “Please, can I say goodbye to him and tell him that I love him before you take him back to the operating room,” Jeanie begged, arm her tears now rolling down her face as she saw Mike’s stretcher being rushed towards the elevator.

The surgeon nodded as he grabbed Jeannie’s elbow and hurried with her to join the small entourage of medical staff surrounding the stretcher as they stepped into the elevator, “Of course you can, I think that he would like you to hold his hand while we take him up to the operating room.”


	7. Chapter 7

"Mike's condition is listed as critical, the doctors are saying if he can make it through the next twenty-four hours, he has a chance."

"And Steve?" Rudy asked as he pushed an open file on his desk out of the way and leaned forward, resting on his forearms as he clasped his hands together on the desk.

Roy shook his head and sighed, "There's no sign of him and unless we get something from the car or the shoe, we have no real solid leads to go on."

"How's Jeannie coping?"

"Not good."

"That's not surprising."

Roy nodded his agreement, "Lee was with her when I left the hospital."

"So, just what have we got so far?" Rudy asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"Not much, Rudy, so far all we know that there are at least four other victims, each were shot with the same two weapons. Charlie confirmed the bullets recovered from the first four victims were .308 Winchesters from two Model 88 Winchester rifles."

"And Charlie's sure we're dealing with two different shooters?"

"One hundred percent. The rifling on the bullets confirm they were fired by two different guns. I'm just waiting for the ballistics' report on the two bullets that the doctors dug out of Mike this morning but I'm sure that they will confirm that he was shot by one or both of the shooters," Roy began, only to be interrupted by a brief rap on the door.

Holding his hand up for Roy to wait for a minute before finishing his report, Rudy looked over Roy's shoulder at the door as he called, "Come in."

Roy turned in his seat and watched as the door opened and Lessing entered the office with Haseejien close on his heels.

"Excuse me, Captain, but we were wondering if…" Lee paused as he realized that he was interrupting a meeting between Roy and the captain. Blushing slightly, he began to apologize, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I... I thought that-"

"That I was still at the hospital," Roy frowned, surprised to see Lee standing in the doorway. Lee nodded as Roy continued, "That's where I thought you would be, with Jeannie and Mike."

"I… I was," Lee stammered, "Until they found Steve and Mike's car."

"They found Steve's and Mike's car?" Roy asked, trading a surprised look with Rudy before he looked back at the two men standing in the doorway.

"A concerned citizen called in a complaint about two abandoned cars in a parking lot off Point Lobos Avenue. The caller was concerned because both cars had their doors open and no one was around. A couple of the uniformed guys responded and discovered that one of the cars was Steve's and Mike's missing LTD and called it in. So, Norm and I responded to the scene." Lee explained as he entered the office and Norm closed the door behind them.

"And?" Rudy demanded impatiently.

"It looks to me like someone initially set up some sort of a trap, probably hoping to draw the attention of a police officer," Lee answered.

"What sort of a trap?" Roy frowned.

"There second car had been staged to make it look like it might have been the scene of some sort of an abduction. There was a woman's shoe on the ground near the car's open door." Norm interrupted softly.

"And Mike and Steve rolled up on it."

"And were probably grabbed by whoever was waiting." Lee continued as he crossed the office to stand next to where his lieutenant was sitting in front of Rudy's desk, "I don't think they were targeted specifically, I think that they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and if another officer reached the car first…"

"We would be searching for them." Rudy finished, looking up at the young Homicide inspector.

"What about the second car?" Roy asked.

"Stolen from the long-term parking lot at the airport. The owner has been backpacking around Europe for the last four weeks and he's not due to return for another three months. The car itself is a bust, Charlie said it's been wiped clean and the woman's shoe can be bought at any shoe shop across the country." Lee announced quietly before he added nervously, "But I got thinking, the four victims we have found so far were all shot with .308 Winchesters, ammunition of choice used by most hunters, and Charlie just confirmed that the bullets the doctors pulled out of Mike were the same calibar, fired from the same guns."

The two senior officers nodded and watched Lee as he walked around Rudy's desk and stared at the map of San Francisco and the surrounding area pinned to the wall before he turned back to face them. "I know Mike and Steve were working on the assumption that these murders were some kind of thrill killings but, Sir, what if they were only partially right. Norm and I started throwing out some wild theories on our way back to San Francisco after checking out Mike's and Steve's car and I think we may have come up with a new theory that could explain not only Mike's, but the other victims' torn and muddy clothes and the fact they looked like they had all being running through the undergrowth. It could also be the reason why the bodies were also found in national parks around the area." Taking a deep breath and praying that the theory didn't sound as crazy as it now sounded to himself, Lee rushed on, "What if these killers are hunters and their prey isn't animals but man."

Rudy and Roy stared at him in disbelief as Norm hurried around the desk to join him in front of the map. "It makes sense," he began to argue, "The caliber of the bullets, the wounds the victims suffered, the torn and muddy clothes cause by running away from their hunters and the type of areas the murders have occurred in. And we know from the autopsies that all the victims were killed within twenty-fours of their disappearances. What if our theory is right, that means that that the countdown has started already for Steve?"

"Look, we know these guys are smart. smart enough to trap their potential prey and leave no or very little evidence behind." Lee jumped in as he saw Roy and Rudy warming up to their theory, "But they are getting cocky, they are escalating, and that means Steve is in more danger than any of the other victims, he may not even have twenty-four hours. But I have an idea, I don't know if it will work or if our theory is correct but time's running out for Steve and at the moment all we are doing is spinning our wheels until we can talk to Mike. And the condition Mike is in at the moment, we may not be able to talk to him until it's too late."

Looking across at Rudy, who seemed to be mulling over Lee's and Norm's theory, Roy looked back at them and asked, "Ok, what's your idea?"

"Well, we found Mike here, on the side of Bunker Road just near the Miwok Trail," Lee pointed to the green forested area on the map, "The area is thickly forested, a great place to do a bit of hunting. I was thinking if they hunted Mike there yesterday, maybe they will use the same area for their hunt today."

"Maybe…" Rudy murmured as he studied the large green shaded area on the map before he looked back at Lee, "So, what are you suggesting, sending in a search party?"

"No, these hunters are good," Lee turned back to look at Rudy, "If we try sending in a great big group of armed searchers they are going to spot them in a heartbeat, and they would also spot a helicopter flying above, searching for Steve. That's even if a helicopter crew could even see through the tree canopy."

"I agree," Roy nodded, 'so what do you suggest we do?"

"Let Norm and me go in alone. We would have not only the ability to search without alerting them we are there, but we will also the element of surprise on our side."

Looking doubtfully at his young inspector, Rudy frowned, "What makes you even think that you will be able to find Steve?"

"I did some hunting when I was younger. I know how to read tracks and follow the signs of an animal or man moving through the underbrush. We can start where we found Mike and backtrack in the general direction that Mike came from." Lee shrugged before he added softly. "It might not work, and I might be wrong, but it's the best chance Steve has at the moment."

"It's a crazy theory, but I guess it's worth a shot." Rudy said as he ran his hand over his thinning hair.

"You mean we can do it?" Lee asked eagerly.

Rudy nodded, "You can try but I want you to wear bullet proof vests and to be careful. If your theory is right, then these hunters are looking for trophies and the heads of two more cops will look nice on their walls. I will contact the park rangers and have them meet up with you. Maybe they can give you some suggestions on where to look."

"Yes, Sir!' Lee smiled with relief as he headed towards the door.

"And Lee," Rudy waited until the young inspector turned around and looked at him before he ordered firmly, "One more thing, you and Norm are to keep in radio contact with the rangers at all times. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sir." Lee agreed before he turned and hurried out of the door with Norm close behind.

Turning back to face Rudy as the door closed behind the two junior officers, Roy frowned, "That's one hell of a theory, Rudy, do you really think that they have a hope in hell of finding him?"

Rudy shrugged as he stared at the closed door before he turned back to Roy and admitted, "It is, and as far fetched as it may sound, they could be right. And as much as I hate admitting it, Lessing is right, we are just spinning our wheels here waiting for Mike to be able to tell us what happened and we both know that the clock for finding Keller alive is ticking down. Hunters or not, we know the other victims only lived for twenty-four hours after they disappeared and if Keller isn't already dead, he will be in the next twenty-for hours."

xxxxxxx

"Damn it, it's a mess in here," the surgeon muttered, his nose wrinkling as a strong odor assaulted it, as he swabbed more of the bloody, puss-filled gore away. "More suction!" he ordered as he glanced across at the nurse who nodded her acknowledgement before he looked across at the anesthetist. "How's his blood pressure?"

"70/40 and dropping," the anesthetist answered as he quickly adjusted the flow of the gasses to the mask covering Mike's mouth and nose and nervously watched the green dot on the heart monitor as it danced across the screen, spiking with an occasional, irregular beat.

"There it is!" the surgeon murmured as he carefully rolled the intestine in his hand and finally found the small leaking tear before demanding the needle and thread and carefully began to stitch.

"Ok, I've just finished suturing the tear, I'm just going to remove the contaminated dressings and repack the dressings in his liver," the surgeon warned the anesthetist, aware that even though it was risky, it needed to be done, "then we can get him washed out and close up as fast as we can."

The anesthesist nodded as he turned and adjust the combination of gasses before he glanced back at the heart monitor.

After quickly pulling out the wad of blood drenched cotton swaps from Mike's liver and replacing them with fresh ones, the surgeon looked across at the nurse as he ordered, "Ok, let's get another bag of blood up and start washing him out with three litres of warm normal saline…"

"Whatever you're doing, you better do it fast," the anesthetist warned as he adjusted the oxygen flow before he returned his attention back to the heart monitor, monitoring it closely, "Because he's not going to tolerate being under much longer. BP is dropping and he's starting to throw pvc's."

"Just a few minutes more…" the surgeon murmured distractedly as he concentrated on washing out the contaminated fluid from around his patient's intestines as he nodded at the nurse for more suction.

"You better hurry up, 'cause we're losing him…" the anesthetist announced as the green blip on the heart monitor danced erratically across the screen before it suddenly changed into a continuous green line as the heart monitor alarm began to echo around the operating room.


	8. Chapter 8

Feeling his foot snagged beneath something, Steve threw his hands out in a desperate attempt to break his fall, but he was unable to stop his head first, uncontrollable tumble down the hill. He let out a painfilled grunt as he slammed against a rock, momentarily knocking the wind out of him. Rolling onto his back, he tried to concentrate on drawing a breath into his burning lungs as he stared up through the canopy of trees above him at the tiny patches of grey and blue sky that appeared and disappeared behind the swaying leaves.

He needed some sort of a plan to get out of here, running blindly through the forest was just going to get him killed. He had to find some way to throw them off his trail. Gulping several lungful’s of air, he sat up a little, resting on his elbows as he looked around, trying to get at least a slight bearing of where he was. He bit his lip as he found himself at the bottom of a small fern covered embankment, surrounded by trees.

The soft sounds of running water caught his attention and he slowly sat up and turned his head in the direction of the sound of the running water before he quickly turned and looked back up at the top of the small embankment he had just tumbled down as he heard one of his tormentors call out to the other, “Jesse, over here, I found a footprint, he’s headed this way!”

Scrambling up onto his feet, Steve swallowed a moan as his left ankle protested at having to bear his weight as he tried to limp as fast as he could back into the protective cover of the trees and towards the sound of the running water. He needed to throw them off his tracks and he needed to throw them off fast.

Stopping to catch his breath as he reached the edge of the small stream, he stared at the fast-flowing water before he looked back over his shoulder. Reassuring himself that the two gunmen weren’t standing behind one of the many trees behind him, lining him up for their kill shot, Steve could not stop himself from gasping in shock at just how icy cold the water was as he turned and waded into the middle of the creek. After taking another desperate glance towards the trees that lined the bank, to reassure himself again that the two men weren’t standing there, watching him, he turned and began to head downstream as fast as he could as he fought to keep his balance against the icy water that rushed past him, threatening to topple him with each unsteady step he took in the swirling current.

XXXX

Looking up from the magazine that she had been trying to read for the last hour as the waiting room door open, Jeannie dropped the magazine on the chair beside her before she rose to her feet as the surgeon, still dressed in his operating scrubs, entered. Hurrying across to meet him halfway across the room, Jeannie asked, anxiously, “How is he?”

“How about we take a seat,” the surgeon suggested softly, tilting his head towards the chairs against the wall before he gently grabbed Jeannie by her arm and led her back to the chair she had just vacated. Waiting until Jeannie sat down before sitting down on the chair beside her and angling it towards her, the surgeon removed his surgical hat from his head before tugging the mask around his neck free, before clearing his throat as he prepared himself to deliver the heartbreaking news.

“Doctor Miller…Mike’s okay, isn’t he?” Jeanie stared fearfully at the surgeon, her fear of losing her father evident on her face as she begged, “Please, tell me…that he’s made it through the surgery… hasn’t he?”

Nodding slowly, the surgeon began slowly, “Yes, he made it through surgery but I’m afraid that his condition has been downgraded from critical to critical and unstable.” He waited a moment to allow Jeannie a moment to digest what he had just told her before he continued gently. “Your father was bleeding internally and when we went back in we found a small tear in his intestine that we missed the first time we went in. We were able to repair it but unfortunately the small tear allowed some of the contents from his intestine to spill out and caused a massive infection which has passed into his bloodstream. We washed out as much of the contamination as we could and have started him on massive doses of antibiotics to try and control the infection but I’m afraid-”

“It won’t be enough.” Jeannie breathed, her face draining of color, as she unconsciously reached for Lee’s hand only to remember that he was not there, he was searching for Steve.

Miller nodded slowly before he asked gently, “I understand that your father’s catholic?”

Jeannie nodded woodenly.

“Would you like me to contact your priest?”

Staring at the doctor in confusion, it took several long seconds before Jeannie realized what he was asking.  Unable to stop herself from shaking as her world fell apart around her, Jeannie wrapped her arms around herself as she managed to manage to nod and whisper, “His…his name is Father Loggerhan.”

“Father Loggerhan? From Saint Teresa of Avila?” the surgeon asked.

Jeannie swallowed hard, unable to stop her voice from cracking as the tears began to roll down her face, “He’s been our family priest since before I was born.”

Squeezing Jeannie’s hand, the surgeon nodded and promised, “I will give him a call and tell him what’s happening. Is there anyone one else I can call to come and stay with you?”

Jeannie shook her head. “I’m okay,” she lied, forcing herself to brush away her tears. She had to stay strong, not only for Mike but for Steve as well. She couldn’t risk losing Steve as well just because she wanted someone to be by her side, instead of letting them search for him. Taking a deep shuddering breath, she looked at the surgeon and asked, “Can … can I see him?”

Squeezing her hand a little tighter, Miller nodded, “Of course you can. He should be settled back in his room by now, I will take you to him.”

XXXX

Slinging his rifle over his shoulder, Jesse Landry knelt on one knee and began to study the broken stem of a fern as he gently fingered its crushed, green leaves. “He came this way and not too long ago,” he announced as he stood back up and carefully looked around, studying the surrounding underbrush and ground.  Unshouldering his rifle, he smiled as his eyes caught the faint imprint of a shoe and the barely discernible trail of more broken ferns and disturbed ground in the almost twilight aura of the forest. Taking a few careful steps forward as he tentatively pushed aside the broken ferns with the butt of his gun and studied the footprints a little closer, chuckling as he did, “Looks like he managed to hurt himself in that little fall he took back there.” Pointing towards the uneven depth of the footprints, he looked back up at his hunting companion and grinned, “He’s limping…”

Standing back, silently the trail of broken fern stems before looking at torn spiderweb that hung between the two trees, the older man nodded in the direction of the faint sound of running water. “He’s a smart one, I’ll give him that. He’s headed towards the creek, probably thinks that once he is wading through the water that we will lose his trail.” Slapping Jesse on the shoulder, he pushed past him and began to rush through the thick undergrowth, he ordered over his shoulder, “Come on, hurry up, let’s have a little bit of fun with him, I’m not ready to end the hunt just yet.”


End file.
